Category Archives: Polygamy

PASIGHAT, 27 Sep: Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Women (APSCW) Chairperson Radhilu Chai Techi exhorted the women of the state to not remain silent and speak up for their rights.

The traditional laws and marriage system which dont give full justice to women need reformation, Techi said. While urging the women to uphold their healthy

tradition of working hard to nurture their families, she opined that the traditional laws and system have outlived their utility.

Techi was addressing a legal awareness programme organized by NGO Women Against Social Evils (WASE) here in East Siang district on Monday.

Reiterating the commissions stand on protection of womens rights, Techi said that more and more women are being subjected to exploitation these days. The commission is studying and looking for various methods and strategies to tackle the issue and assist the victims, she said.

She also emphasized on participation of women on all fronts, including in the panchayats and the legislative assembly. Techi gave assurance that the commission would continue to make efforts to help women in taking up entrepreneurial activities, which she said would empower and uplift their economic condition.

She also highlighted the APSCWs achievements in dealing with cases of domestic violence, polygamy, rape, physical and mental torture, etc, meted out to women.

East Siang SP Sumit Kr Jha said that ending violence against women is everyones business.

We must give safe space to women to speak and be heard, Jha said.

The SP emphasized the need to educate women on the basic procedures of filing complaints or FIRs and seeking the help of the authority when needed.

APSCW member Techi Hunmai spoke on domestic violence and polygamy and their consequences, while advocate Karmo Chotten threw light on the importance of marriage registration and property rights in the context of Arunachal Pradesh.

WASE general secretary Jaya Tasung Moyong thanked the APSCW for its untiring efforts towards women emancipation and empowering them through legal awareness.

WASE president YD Darang also spoke.

APSCW Vice Chairperson Heyomai Towsik, SDO (Sadar) Oli Perme, a host of officers and WASE members attended the programme. (DIPRO)

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APSCW c'person urges women to speak up for their rights - The Arunachal Times

Monique Ilboudo was born in Burkina Faso in 1959. She became the first woman to write and publish a novel in her country. She was also the first woman to teach at the law faculty of Ouagadougou University, where she struggled to be taken seriously. As a minister for the promotion of human rights, but also as an outspoken voice, Ilboudo has played a prominent role in the political scene of her country.

From 1992 to 1995, she wrote an editorial column Fminin Pluriel (Feminine in the Plural) for the Burkinab daily LObservateur Paalga. In parallel, she launched the observatory Qui-vive (Who Lives), focused on the living conditions of women in Burkina Faso.

She is the author of several essays that dive into the taboos linked to the traditions of Burkina Faso. One of those, Droit de cit : tre femme au Burkina Faso (Freedom of the City, Being a Woman in Burkina Faso), published in 2006, gives a juridical, historical, ethnographic and socio-cultural analysis of several issues: female genital mutilation, contraception, abortion, rape, incest, witchcraft, laws around marriage, polygamy, the education of girls, the division of labour by gender and the underrepresentation of women in politics.

In 1992, she published her first novel, Le Mal de Peau (The Pain of the Skin), that was followed by three more. The last one, Carrefour des veuves (Widows Crossroads) was published at the end of 2020, during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic.

My family background has played a very important role. I was born into a family that believed that their daughter should have the same opportunities as boys. Ive seen families take their daughters out of school and marry them off. I was able to study.

My mother was a rebellious woman: she stood up to her parents and refused the marriage they wanted to impose on her. Being the daughter of such a woman is already a strength in itself. My father loved me very much and had confidence in me. A fathers role is very important. By showing confidence in me, he enabled me to develop confidence in myself. Thats why I was not afraid of anything, I had two people behind me.

No, I was not aware that I was the first woman to write a novel. I had just returned from Europe and was advised to enter a literary competition. I won the prize and an article appeared with the title: A novelist has been born to us. I was surprised by the content of the article.

I was in Germany and I gave a copy of my thesis to the director of the newspaper [LObservateur Paalga]. He thought I wrote well and asked me to do a column about women. As women often used to write anonymously, he suggested that I keep my name. The column left no one indifferent. One day I went to the post office and an elderly woman hugged me and said: Thank you for speaking for us! Two camps would often form around me, wherever I was: the women would defend me and the men would challenge me. The column lasted a long time, because there were many things that encouraged me to continue.

My work always comes back to the womens struggle. I identify with the defence of the weak, I dont like injustice, I like freedom. Im more a woman of freedom than a woman of power. The thing that hurts me most is when someone tries to stop me from being free. I cannot bear to be deprived of my freedom. Ive even had to fight with my parents to preserve it.

My latest novel, Carrefour des veuves (Widows Crossroads), published in September 2020, is once again about the plight of women, but this time in the context of terrorism. My previous novel, Si loin de ma vie (So Far From My Life), is about migration and a young man who is gay, in a country where the rights of the [LGBT+] community are not recognised.

Ive fought these battles because theyre important to me. My granddaughters will one day harvest the fruits we have planted[.] A journalist asked me why I hadnt stayed in Europe after completing my PhD [in Paris, where I chose State Contracts with Multinationals as my research topic, to denounce the iniquity of such contracts and to encourage African countries to resist the power of multinationals]. I wanted to go back to my country because those who gave me the scholarship did so for me to return. I had a duty, I couldnt think of staying in Europe, I wanted to be useful so that others could also study; although, with ideas like mine, life would have been easier there.

I think so, for two reasons: I was among the first women who dared to publish their writings. I think this has helped show that women too can and should speak out about our environment, our society, our culture and how we operate. If, thanks to my texts, just one little girl were able to say to herself, So, it is possible, then I will have contributed to building a female identity in Burkina Faso.

Every voice, male or female, is different, and adds to the wealth of cultural and artistic diversity in our country. Being who I am, creating stories and characters, contributes, I believe, to stimulating the imagination and the thinking of my contemporaries and my readers.

Someone once asked me if I was aware that I was a role model. Its true that when I talk about women, Im not talking about myself, Im talking about the problems experienced by other women, the suffering I see. But it has only really struck me in hindsight. At university, a young student said to me: Its thanks to you that Im here, I chose law because of you. I made an impression on young people, I had short hair and that inspired them. They called me the aunty with short hair. Although it wasnt my intention at the time, I realise now that girls and boys have identified with me.

Not really! Im not necessarily saying theres censorship. The main problem is self-censorship: for fear of being stigmatised, for fear of being labelled, many women dont dare to speak out about their situation, about the discrimination or the injustice they suffer. The dominant culture considers that a good woman is one who keeps quiet.

There can be no African womans identity! The singular here essentialises, dangerously. African women are different from one part of the continent to another, from one environment to another. They are fighting for more freedom and equality like so many other women around the world. This fight for full civil rights and against violence is central to their dignity. Modern communication technologies could enable us to better share the experiences that move these struggles forward, and to show more solidarity.

I believe in the universality of the struggle. It is not because the philosophy of human rights comes from elsewhere that it is bad. European women have helped us, African women, to open our eyes to certain issues, because they, as women from the West, were able to see our culture with a degree of distance. The first to denounce forced marriages were nuns, because they came from a different world. Today, we are not going to say that marrying a 13-year-old girl is a good thing.

But thats not to say there have been no feminists in African history. Girls of the same age group had their own way of criticising the family and their husbands. Every society has its own way of resisting oppression and changing things, its own way of finding a better life. But our elders didnt dare to talk about certain subjects, such as excision. It was people from other countries, from outside (including Senegal) who first dared to talk about it. We didnt want to talk about it because it was like a violation of our privacy, but other people helped us to open up and talk about these issues. Womens solidarity opened our eyes, and Im thankful for that.

I see a woman without complexes and who preserves a degree of authenticity, because it would be sad if she were in danger of becoming uniform. Its important not to let yourself be dominated by other peoples ideas, but to stay true to yourself and your own ideas. Theres no need to have any complexes: if my neighbour has a good idea, I try to take inspiration from it, but I dont apply it just as it is.

In my latest novel, I talk about Korean and Brazilian women selling their hair to get by and how no one wants our hair because we dont even want it ourselves! We are humanity in diversity. We have to be ourselves because all the others are already taken, if I stay myself, it is up to me to define who I am, not anyone else. If we want to be respected, we have to respect ourselves. We cannot defend certain ideas if we have no respect for ourselves.

The message is perseverance: dont look for instant rewards. When you fight a battle, you dont reap the benefits immediately, but future generations will be able to benefit from it. When you have convictions, you must always fight for them. For women today, nothing can be taken for granted; we must remain alert and continue to fight. The revolution [led by Thomas Sankara, Burkina Fasos visionary former leader who was murdered in 1987] introduced many provisions for women, but there are many who now want those gains reversed. Nothing can ever be taken for granted!

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Pioneering Burkinab writer Monique Ilboudo: For women today, nothing can be taken for granted; we must remain alert and continue to fight - Equal...

By Fidelis David

The Wife of the Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu- Akeredolu, said that she is building an army of female technology leaders that would serve Nigeria and solve the countrys problems with her BEFORE initiative.

Anyanwu-Akeredolu, stated this weekend at the closing ceremony marking the end of the two weeks training of the BEMORE Summer Bootcamp, held at the Federal University of Technology, (FUTA) Akure, the states capital.

The First Lady, who distributed 368 laptops to techy girls at the event, said it was indeed the beginning of a new life for the 368 girls whose lives have been reshaped and re- orientated to continue to change the narratives in their respective communities.

She said: The BEMORE initiative started in 2017 with a 2-weeks intensive training for girls on ICT, renewable solar energy, skill acquisition and life skills among others.

The wife of the governor noted that over 2,000 girls have benefited till date, said she was aware of gender imbalances in all strata noted that the greatest error has been unequal access of girls to quality education and upholding cultural norms that discriminate against women.

Now we are wondering why insecurity is becoming more popular in Nigeria by the day; its simple! A country that allows proliferation of sexist family laws, unequal property rights, early marriage for girls, polygamy, son preference, violence against women and legal indulgence of it; such country is almost certain to experience violent instability. If indeed we are concerned about the prosperity and security of this country called Nigeria, we must begin to invest in our girls.

I am building an army of female technology leaders to serve Nigeria and solve Nigerians problems.

They will not become professionals for export, good only for sending back dollars to parents and relatives tufiakwa. We have instilled a sense of patriotism. They will become a breed without greed in words and deeds. They will use their talents, knowledge and skills to serve Nigeria not the Western world, she reaffirmed just as she charged them charged to work so hard, believing in themselves to make her proud.

The Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) appreciated the initiative and urged the girls to become change agents wherever they find themselves.

Akeredolu said that he would ensure that BEMORE gets a permanent camp in the state as a citizen driven initiative.

Dr. Ogbnnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, represented by Yemi Gbadegesin in his remarks, assured of his readiness to partner BEMORE initiative through sustainability plan.

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I'm Building Technology Leaders to Solve Problems of Nigerians, Says Akeredolu's Wife - THISDAY Newspapers

Meri Brown has been in her feels while figuring out how to navigate her life, as her relationship with husband Kody Brown continues to crumble.

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The Sister Wives star took to her Instagram Story to share a message about feeling lost but managing to find oneself again. "Life changes. You lose love. You lose friends. You lose pieces of yourself that you never imagined would be gone," her message, posted by Instagram account @mypositiveoutlooks, read.

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Meri's brutally honest post about rebuilding oneself after losing love comes following the downfall of her and Kody's tumultuous relationship playing out on the most recent season of Sister Wives.

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The reality star couple has been at odds ever since Meri's 2015 catfish scandal plagued their relationship although Kody claimed they were in a bad place before his wife formed an online emotional connection with someone who she thought was a man but turned out to be a woman.

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Meri, 50, and Kody, 52, tried to get their marriage back on track by going to therapy, but the husband to four women admitted he had no desire to be intimate with Meri anymore. Acknowledging the demise of their relationship may have had to do with his actions, Kody explained on the show: "we quit dating and that's just probably because I quit calling her to say, 'Let's go do something.'"

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However, it seems Kody may be the only one who gave up on their relationship. During the estranged couple's 30th anniversary, Meri said she wanted to kiss Kody, but he made it clear he wasn't interested. Romance and sex are saved in my world for people who are inlove," he later said to the camera of the incident.

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It's clear both Meri and Kody have been struggling to come to terms with how to deal with their relationship, as Kody previously explained it's hard to resolve their issues when all Meri wants is to be loved.

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While she "wants to be loved romantically," Kody told cameras: "there has to be a spark" in order for romance to exist. "From that, shewill receive romance, love, a full marriage and a sexual relationship."

Meri who grew up in polygamy and Kody met in 1989 and got engaged after only a few months. They went on to tie the knot in 1990 and later welcomed Janelle in 1993 into their plural marriage followed by Christine in 1994. Meri then agreed to divorce Kody so he could legally marry Robyn in 2014.

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'Sister Wives' Star Meri Brown Reflects On Losing 'Love' & 'Pieces Of Yourself' Amid Troubled Marriage To Kody Brown - OK!

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom or Genjitsu Shugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki is an isekai fantasy TV anime with harem elements. The series follows Kazuya Souma, a 19-year old aspiring civil servant who mysteriously gets summoned to an alternate world to deal with the Demon Lords Domain threat. With no practical political experience, he suddenly becomes the acting king of the Elfrieden empire and is entrusted with the responsibility to rescue it from a critical political and social crisis. Instead of giving empty promises, Kazuya implements radical policy interventions to improve the standards of living and slowly but steadily starts to revolutionize the Elfrieden empire.

Based on Dojyomarus light novel series of the same name, the anime first premiered on July 4, 2021. Although manga readers criticized it for the disappointing condensation of the source material, the series still managed to garner a decent global fan following. Since season 1 has recently concluded, you may be wondering about the shows season 2 renewal and release dates. In either case, heres everything you need to know.

How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom season 1 premiered on Tokyo MX and BS11 on July 4, 2021. After its thirteen-episode run, the series finally concluded on September 26, 2021. The anime is developed by J.C.Staff with Takashi Watanabe helming the directorial team while Gou Zappa and Hiroshi Oonogi collaborated to write the scripts.

As far as season 2 of the isekai fantasy series is concerned, heres everything we know so far. Neither Studio J.C. Staff nor anyone else involved in the production of the first installment has officially announced the shows renewal as of now. Although the series has been criticized for a few reasons, it still boasts a good overall rating and positive reviews from all parts of the world. Dojyomarus work that serves as the inspiration for anime still has a lot to offer as the anime has only adapted the first four of the fourteen volumes of the ongoing light novel series.

The show is yet to touch upon several crucial storylines, and it has just begun to explore a long and complicated book series. Looking at its reviews and the source material, it seems that the shows renewal is only a matter of time. If the anime production committee renews the series in the near future, then How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom season 2 will probably release sometime in early 2023.

In season 2, the independent kingdom of Amidonia will find itself in a deep crisis when a civil war breaks out. With neighboring nations waiting for the right opportunity to strike, its leaders will seek Elfrieden Kingdoms support to fight back. As the series progresses, the two regions will unite to give birth to the Kingdom of Friedonia. Since polygamy is encouraged, Souma will have more princesses betrothed to him as he is the king as well. The protagonist may also work on a top-secret weapons project to strengthen his countrys defense. Furthermore, the educational programs started by him will radically change ground reality and will turn out to be a definitive step towards a better tomorrow.

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How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom Season 2: Release Date and Spoilers - The Cinemaholic

By CHARLES ONYANGO-OBBO

Guineas recent coup leader Col Mamady Doumbouya, who is now setting himself as the countrys strongman, offered a twist to his story.

He appeared in a photograph, wearing a matching white robe with his wives. But his being a polygamist, in this Africa of ours, is neither here nor there. What got the goat of some African patriots who commented on the photograph online, is that both women are white; one is French, the other German.

On one of the websites that carried the photograph, some chap mourned in halting English that an African man who is a polygamist, with both his wives being white and doesnt see any black African woman native to marry too hasproblem and is cursed.

In other words, Doumbouya can marry a white, Asian, or any other woman he wishes, but once he went for a second one, he had an obligation to marry a daughter of the soil.

His opponents could soon argue that if you are a polygamist and you think the country cannot provide you wife material, then you dont deserve to lead it. It would be ironic if Doumbouyas first problem with his people were to come from his choice of wives. He might just have to take a third wife with credible Guinean roots, to deal with this problem.

The Guineans, otherwise, have welcomed this coup with glee. The scenes of them dancing with and taking selfies with the putschist soldiers show people visibly excited about the ouster of Alpha Conde. It seemed to confirm what the opposition and people who took to the streets last year alleging he had stolen the election, were right.

African coups, though, notoriously end in tears and heartbreak. It might not be long before the Guineans are crying again.

In the meantime, the contradictions from the coup continue to fascinate. Doumbouya is 41, thats half the age of Conde, who is 83. We would have expected that it would be Conde, not Doumbouya, who would be more traditionalist and a polygamist.

Hours after the September 5 coup, several photographs of Doumbouya and his comrades emerged. In one of them, there was a witchdoctor. Apparently, when they went to attack the presidential palace, they carried along their own juju man, just in case Conde had his own presidential shaman.

Again, one would have expected that youthful soldiers, more exposed to the world, would be more scientific. Their leader, after all, has been all over the world, with a 15-year military career that has seen him serve in missions in Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Central African Republic and do other work in Israel, Cyprus, the UK and Guinea.

He was in the French foreign legion, and trained severally before Conde called him back to lead his Praetorian guard, the elite Special Forces Group (GFS) in 2018. After all that, they still needed to sprinkle chicken blood, feathers on the state house fence, and blow ash in the air to ward off possible Conde spells.

Yet, it might not be a contradiction. Observers see Doumbouya and his comrades as representing a strong, not yet fully acknowledged, trend in Africa today; a return to the roots, to the old ways.

Charles Onyango-Obbo is a journalist, writer, and curator of the Wall of Great Africans. [emailprotected]

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Juju, polygamy and coups: In Guinea, its back to the old ways roots - The East African

Monogamy is the practice of forming romantic relationships with only one partner at a time, as opposed to having multiple partners at once. A monogamous relationship is a relationship where two people date and have sex with each other exclusively, and they don't share this type of connection with anyone else outside the couple. There is romantic, sexual, and emotional exclusivity between them.

Today, monogamy is the most mainstream approach to relationships across many societies, though it's by no means universal. Various cultures across the world practice polygamy (marriage between more than two people), and historically the majority of preindustrial societies engaged in polygamy of some sort, typically in the form of polygyny (two or more women sharing a husband). Monogamy is also a rarity among other mammals, with just 3% of mammals engaging in monogamy according to one recent analysis.

"Most of us have learned that monogamy is the 'normal' or even the 'traditional' relationship style and that nonmonogamy is an alternative, when, in fact, nonmonogamous relationships like polyandry, polygyny, [and] polygamy have been around for centuries," Jayda Shuavarnnasri, M.A., a sex and love educator who teaches about nonmonogamy and supports people exploring nonmonogamous relationships, tells mbg.

While there are many theories as to why human societies transitioned from primarily polygamous to primarily monogamous, what we do know is that monogamy as the social norm is a relatively recent development in the scope of human history.

That said, in many societies today, monogamy is often treated as the default way of being in relationships. The common understanding of the way relationships formfrom initial meeting, to becoming exclusive, to confessions of love, to moving in together, to eventually getting married and having kidsare all tied to the concept of monogamy, as are popular conceptions of romantic love such as finding "the one" or meeting "my other half."

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Is Monogamy Right For You? Here's How To Tell + Other Options To Consider - mindbodygreen.com

If you ever feel useless, remember it took 20 years, trillions of dollars and four US presidents to replace the Taliban with the Taliban, posted some wag on Facebook, which I have shamelessly nicked for its neat summation.

It would be funny if it werent so utterly bloody awful; a whole generation of women and girls being forcibly propelled back to the Dark Ages, as countries like the US and UK bicker and capitulate.

In a study that will surprise no one, researchers at a Texas University compiled a list of practices associated with what the Economist tactfully calls pre-modern attitudes to women and links them to violence and instability. No shit.

As Hillary Clinton put it before the US elected an unhinged man rather than allowing someone with a vagina to be in charge The subjugation of women is a threat to the common security of our world.

It should not take actual research from an actual university to join the dots between such pre-modernism sexist family law, lack of education for girls, forced and/or underage marriage for girls, lack of reproductive rights, lack of property rights, lack of inheritance rights, polygamy, dowries, killing female babies in preference for sons, lack of legal consequence for male violence and rape and failed states.

(That the research came from Texas, itself in the grips of its very own legislative Taliban, gun-totin Republicans banging on about foetal heartbeat, is the kind of irony that would make you want to run amok with garden shears).

You dont need to be a sociologist, anthropologist, or any other kind of ologist to work out that skewed sex ratios result in grave social imbalance. That misogynist cultural practices passed off as traditional like marrying your daughters off when still children do nobody any favours, as they perpetuate cycles of ignorance, violence, poverty. Like Malala says, what most frightens extremists is a girl with a book; extremists across the globe prefer instead to keep girls pregnant, cowed, voiceless, isolated.

Yet this myopic misogyny does not serve anyone. Not the men, not the women, not the children of states who continue to exclude and oppress half of their citizenship. During global peace talks between 1992 and 2019, women made up just 6% of signatories and 13% of negotiators. Never mind ideas like culture or tradition what about pragmatism? Peace talks that involve women last longer. Countries, where women are part of the organisational structure, are less violent. These are facts, not opinions.

Listening to the former Afghan Minister for Women, Hasina Safi on BBC radio the other day shed fled for her life as the Taliban abolished her ministry was heartbreaking. Why do we still allow the routine trashing of half of humanity in so many places? How can this still be happening?

And what can we do about it, without involving more bombs? Because if humanity is to ever survive its own death wish, we need women at the table. End of.

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Suzanne Harrington: The Taliban are propelling women and girls back to the Dark Ages - Irish Examiner

The popular Mzansi Magic reality TV show, uThando Nesthembu is back on our screens for a fifth season, and viewers cannot get enough of the polygamous relationships and dramatic personalities that Musa Mselekus wives have.

uThando Nesthembu is set around the life of successful businessman and polygamist Mseleku, who has taken four different women as his brides.

Each episode shows us how Mseleku and his wives try to navigate life, their different family dynamics, sisterhood and traditions within their isithembu in the modern world.

The first episode of the new season begins with Mseleku seated in front of the cameras and then being joined separately by his four wives who are dressed to impress.

ALSO READ: Marriage proposal to a cheating girlfriend: Viewers react to Uyajola 9/9

As each wife approaches to join her husband, Mseleku is pleased to see how stunning each of them look, letting them know that they are all beautiful.

The next scene shows the children of the businessman and his four wives seated on a couch. One of Musas sons begins to discuss polygamy and tells his siblings that men who would like to get into polygamous relationships should be sure that they have the money to sustain their relationships.

If you want to be a polygamist then youd better have deep pockets, he says.

He then says that when he is older and gets into a polygamous relationship, he will not have separate homes in which the different wives live in, but will have one big yard where all his wives and children will live.

When I become a polygamist, I wont be like my father who has wives who live separately. I will have a massive yard, says the son.

The episode also shows Mseleku spending some time communicating with his ancestors, and taking one of his wives out on a romantic date to clear her head, and to cheer her up after the passing of her mother.

On the episode, Mseleku revealed not only does he have four wives, but he also has girlfriends outside of his polygamous marriage because he is simply a loveable man.

I am loved. Im a loveable man. I have wives and girlfriends, he says.

Towards the end of the episode, Macele called all the other wives together over dinner to discuss their husbands forthcoming birthday as she feels that they all need to celebrate his big day together as a family.

The dinner goes well and all the other wives agree to celebrating Mselekus birthday together, but there is some backlash from MaYeni who feels that their husband will not be happy about the event they have planned, because he has once made it clear that he does not like to celebrate his birthday.

Viewers were delighted to see their favourite wives back on their screens, and most were disappointed by how short the episode was, wishing that each episode could be an hour long.

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Is that Musa Mseleku crying? Viewers react to uThando Nesthembu - The Citizen

Sep 11th 2021

AFTER AMERICA and its allies toppled the Taliban in 2001, primary-school enrolment of Afghan girls rose from 0% to above 80%. Infant mortality fell by half. Forced marriage was made illegal. Many of those schools were ropy, and many families ignored the law. But no one seriously doubts that Afghan women and girls have made great gains in the past 20 years, or that those gains are now in jeopardy.

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The United States is committed to advancing gender equality through its foreign policy, according to the State Department. Bequeathing billions of dollars-worth of arms and a medium-size country to a group of violent misogynists is an odd way to show it. Of course, foreign policy involves difficult trade-offs. But there is growing evidence that Hillary Clinton was on to something when she said, a decade ago, that The subjugation of women isa threat to the common security of our world. Societies that oppress women are far more likely to be violent and unstable.

There are several possible reasons for this. In many places girls are selectively aborted or fatally neglected. This has led to skewed sex ratios, which mean millions of young men are doomed to remain single. Frustrated young men are more likely to commit violent crimes or join rebel groups. Recruiters for Boko Haram and Islamic State know this, and promise them wives as the spoils of war. Polygamy also creates a surplus of single young men. Multiple wives for men at the top means brooding bachelorhood for those at the bottom.

All conflicts have complex causes. But it may be no coincidence that Kashmir has one of the most unbalanced sex ratios in India, or that all of the 20 most turbulent countries on the Fragile States index compiled by the Fund for Peace in Washington practise polygamy. In Guinea, where a coup took place on September 5th, 42% of married women aged 15-49 are in polygamous unions. Chinas police state keeps a lid on its many surplus men, but its neighbours sometimes wonder whether their aggression may some day seek an outlet.

Outside rich democracies, the male kinship group is still the basic unit of many societies. Such groups emerged largely for self-defence: male cousins would unite to repel outsiders. Today, they mostly cause trouble. Tit-for-tat clan feuds spatter blood across the Middle East and the Sahel. Tribes compete to control the state, often violently, so they can divvy up jobs and loot among their kin. Those states become corrupt and dysfunctional, alienating citizens and boosting support for jihadists who promise to govern more justly.

Societies based on male bonding tend to subjugate women. Fathers choose whom their daughters will marry. Often there is a bride pricethe grooms family pay what are sometimes hefty sums to the brides family. This gives fathers an incentive to make their daughters marry early. It is not a small problem. Dowries or bride prices are common in half the worlds countries. A fifth of the worlds young women were married before the age of 18; a twentieth before 15. Child brides are more likely to drop out of school, less able to stand up to abusive husbands and less likely to raise healthy, well-educated children.

Researchers at Texas A&M and Brigham Young universities compiled a global index of pre-modern attitudes to women, including sexist family laws, unequal property rights, early marriage for girls, patrilocal marriage, polygamy, bride prices, son preference, violence against women and legal indulgence of it (for example, can a rapist escape punishment by marrying his victim?). It turned out to be highly correlated with violent instability in a country.

Various lessons can be drawn from this. In addition to their usual analytical tools, policymakers should study geopolitics through the prism of sex. That index of sexist customs, had it existed 20 years ago, would have warned them how hard nation-building would be in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, it suggests that stability cannot be taken for granted in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or even India.

Peace talks should include women. Between 1992 and 2019, only 13% of negotiators and 6% of signatories of peace deals were female. Yet peace tends to last longer when women are at the table. This may be because they are more ready to compromise; or perhaps because a room without women implies a stitch-up between the men with guns without input from non-combatants. Liberia got this right and ended a ghastly civil war; Afghanistans new rulers have not.

More broadly, governments should mean it when they say they want to liberate half of humanity. Educate girls, many of whom have quit school to work or marry since covid-19 impoverished their families. Enforce bans on child marriage and on female genital mutilation, hard though that is in remote villages. Do not recognise polygamy. Equalise inheritance rights. Teach boys not to hit women. Introduce public pensions, which undermine the tradition whereby couples are expected to live with the mans parents, because the elderly have no other means of support.

Most of these are tasks for national governments, but outsiders have some influence. Since Western donors started harping on about girls education, more girls have gone to school (primary enrolment has risen from 64% in 1970 to nearly 90% today). Campaigners against early marriage have prompted more than 50 countries to raise the minimum age since 2000. Boys need to learn about non-violence from local mentors, but ideas about how to design such programmes are shared through a global network of charities and think-tanks. Donors such as USAID and the World Bank have done a fair job of promoting property rights for women, even if their Afghan efforts are about to go up in smoke.

Foreign policy should not be naive. Countries have vital interests, and need to deter foes. Geopolitics should not be viewed solely through a feminist lens, any more than it should be viewed solely in terms of economics or nuclear non-proliferation. But policymakers who fail to consider the interests of half the population cannot hope to understand the world.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Why nations that fail women fail"

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Why nations that fail women fail - The Economist